Medication without Harm
The survival and well-being of human beings depend on keeping the body healthy and mind uncluttered. In the name of making progress, the importance of nurturing the body and mind is not getting due importance. Diseases take a different form to attack the body and weaken it, often making it difficult to survive. The quest of humans is to find solutions for the problems faced by all. Advancements in the health sciences domain are to realise the same. While humans have found answers to several diseases, newer challenges continue to haunt us. With the progress of science and technology, the challenge is to address non-communicable conditions. As someone said aptly, eventually, everyone needs medication, and ensuring the patient’s safety is everyone’s problem.
The definition of patient safety is “preventing avoidable errors and harmful practices suffered by patients within healthcare settings”. According to the WHO, over one million fatalities annually during or shortly after surgery. About two million people suffer yearly due to unsafe care. One in three hundred people is harmed while receiving healthcare. The burden arising out of patient harm is listed fourteen in the list and is comparable to that arising out of malaria or tuberculosis. It is reported that medication harm accounts for 50% of the overall preventable harm in medical care. The damage caused applies to all patients irrespective of the disease for which they seek a cure. Worryingly such a disadvantage is more predominant in low- and middle-income nations. World Health Assembly has been contemplating the steps to minimise the damage caused by inadequate patient safety. in May 2019, the World Health Assembly adopted the resolution for global action on patient safety and proposed the observation of World Patient Safety Day. One comes to the hospital to find solutions and solve the problem they are facing. Hence the best efforts must be put in, and good practices are followed to provide care and solution. Ensuring not to add further to the pain and agony of the patient and the family members is the duty of all involved in delivering health care. Let us join the call to action by WHO: Know, Check and Ask.
Medication errors account for half of all avoidable harm in medical care.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO
The survival and well-being of human beings depend on keeping the body healthy and mind uncluttered. In the name of making progress, the importance of nurturing the body and mind is not getting due importance. Diseases take a different form to attack the body and weaken it, often making it difficult to survive. The quest of humans is to find solutions faced by all, and advancements in the health sciences domain are to realise the same. While humans have found answers to several diseases, newer challenges continue to haunt us. With the progress of science and technology, the challenge is to address non-communicable conditions. The medical fraternity and health workers give their best to ensure patients recover and return to their routines. Shear quantum of work to be done, a substantial number of patients to be taken care of, and the greed of some hospital administrators in compromising patient safety are leading to newer problems. On one side, the patients and families must cope with the emotional and financial challenges of providing necessary care to their near and dear ones. Ensuring proper treatment and following effective procedures to avoid the aftereffects of the treatment are the challenges communities face. As someone said aptly, eventually, everyone needs medication, and ensuring the patient’s safety is everyone’s problem. Drugs can harm if they are not appropriately preserved, administered or insufficiently monitored. Resultant harm forms a significant part of preventable harm. The definition of patient safety is preventing avoidable errors and harmful practices suffered by patients within healthcare settings. At the same time, newer technologies and approaches to treatment are helping many but also making patient care complex.
Unsafe medication practices and medication errors are leading causes of avoidable harm in health care worldwide. According to the WHO, over one million fatalities annually during or shortly after surgery. About two million people suffer yearly due to unsafe care. One in three hundred people is harmed while receiving healthcare. The burden arising out of patient harm is listed fourteen in the list and is comparable to that arising out of malaria or tuberculosis. It is reported that medication harm accounts for 50% of the overall preventable harm in medical care. Vast sums of the expenditure can be avoided if medication errors can be either minimised or avoided. The damage caused applies to all patients irrespective of the disease for which they seek a cure. Worryingly such harm is more predominant in low- and middle-income nations. In prosperous societies, lower numbers (one in ten) are affected. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up new challenges, and the world has suffered not only due to a lack of cure but also to not being able to follow acceptable safe practices due to the sheer magnitude of the problem.
World Health Assembly has been contemplating the steps to minimise the damage caused by inadequate patient safety. in May 2019, the World Health Assembly adopted the resolution for global action on patient safety and proposed the observation of “World Patient Safety Day”. The observance of the day calls for cooperation and focused action by all to improve patient safety. The efforts focus on raising awareness and advocating action to enhance medication safety. All the stakeholders, patients, families, caregivers, health workers, leaders, and policymakers, need to be brought together to find solutions. Engaging and empowering the stakeholders is the way forward. Governments must scale up the implementation to achieve the WHO goal of medication without harm. Ensuring mechanisms of reporting the incidents relating to patient safety and updating the skills for safe medication practices are essential. Some measures to be taken include sharing, learning and applying the lessons learned with the team members, patients, and their family members. Mentoring the newly joined team members on safe medication systems and practices would help.
Involving the patients, caregivers the family members in the decision-making process while delivering healthcare services helps in minimising mistakes. Making the stakeholders understand the options regarding treatment and diagnosis is necessary.
One comes to the medical fraternity (or to a hospital) to find solutions and solve the problem; the best efforts must be put in, and good practices are followed not to add further to the pain and agony of the patient and the family members go through. The doctors and hospital administrators focus on ensuring adequate and economical health care. There are several side effects of the medicines administered and the procedures followed. When we talk about patient care, we talk about avoidable mistakes and ensuring the patient is treated adequately and appropriately, and organisations like WHO are relentlessly achieving the same.
Thanks to Microsoft for the images.
Toons: ReemaÂ
Logs: Sai Baba
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